No one knows a child better than their mother. Zhao Sixing was a very quiet person who had never spoken much since he was a child, but you could tell from some small details that he was a gentle and considerate child.
Zhao Sixing pushed the silver notes on the kang table toward Xu Shao and said, "Mother, please put these silver notes away. My cousin said there are still a few things there that are hard to sell right now. He's thinking of finding a good buyer to sell them for a high price in a few days. My cousin also said that if I need anything for my wedding expenses, I should go to him and he will cover it for me first."
Thinking of Xu Di, Xu Shao sighed and said, "I don't know how your third uncle and aunt raised their child. How come Xu Di is so capable? Now that I think about it, it's because I didn't suffer enough when I was a child. Your maternal grandparents treated me too well. I spent my days eating, drinking and having fun and didn't learn anything."
It was rare to hear Xu Shao belittle herself like this. Zhao Sixing sighed inwardly, but said aloud, "Mother, what are you saying? I think you are the best mother."
Xu Shao looked at the stack of silver notes, picked them up and counted them. She took out three thousand taels and said to Zhao Sixing, "Brother Xing, since you have the idea of acquiring an estate, then go ahead and do it. However, I can only give you seven thousand taels. I want to use the remaining three thousand taels to acquire some private property for your sister in a place a little further away from the capital."
Thinking of his married sister, Zhao Sixing naturally had nothing else to say, but he still said to Xu Shao, "Mother, my opinion is that since you have acquired private property, it is best not to let your husband know about these things."
Thinking of her son-in-law, Xu Shao had a headache. Her son-in-law was good-looking and she heard that he was on good terms with the children of many noble families in the capital. He was considered a man of some influence in the capital. However, since the marriage, her daughter's smiles had become fewer and fewer. When Xu Shao asked, Zhao Siyan would not say. She did hear that her son-in-law's room had been occupied by quite a few people.
Zhao Sixing has been married for several years but has no children. However, he has a concubine who reportedly gave birth to a daughter. When they got married, Xu Shao was short of money. Even though she went to her parents' home to cry and make a fuss, Wu Shi only gave her a limited amount of things. Over the years, Xu Shao has come to realize that having things in hand is not as useful as having hundreds of acres of land. So now that she has money, she is thinking of buying some land for her child.
Xu Shao sighed, feeling a pang of sadness. She wondered why her child was having such a difficult time finding a spouse, since he wasn't lacking anything compared to others.
Seeing Xu Shao's expression, Zhao Sixing knew that she had taken his words to heart. He gritted his teeth and said, "Mother, since we're going to make some purchases, let's buy some good land. After we buy it, we can either hire people to cultivate it ourselves or rent it out. It's a good way to make a living. It's time for us to think about a way out for my sister."
Hearing Zhao Sixing's words, Xu Shao looked at him with surprise and doubt. Zhao Sixing thought of some rumors he had heard outside and said in a low voice, "Mother, I heard that my brother-in-law frequents brothels in the capital. I asked my cousin to inquire about it during the day. If my brother-in-law is really not someone I can entrust my life to, and my sister wants to turn back, can we push her back out again?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Shao's face turned pale. Grabbing Zhao Sixing's hand, she said fiercely, "Where did you hear these things? The family your sister married, though not the best, has a kind mother-in-law, and her husband is devoted to her. Why would your sister turn back?"
Zhao Sixing hadn't expected his mother to think this way about his sister's marriage. He sighed inwardly, but said aloud, "Mother, if that's the case, then I'll ask my cousin to help me inquire. Once everything is arranged, I'll come back and tell you."
After Zhao Si left, Xu Shao thought of her son's words and was overcome with grief. She lay on the kang table and wept bitterly. After crying, she wiped her face, had someone pour her some water to wash her face, and then stopped talking about it.
After Zhao Sixing got married, the mansion arranged a small courtyard for him in the backyard, not far from Xu Shao's courtyard. Since the courtyard had been prepared, Zhao Sixing had been resting there recently.
After leaving Xu Shao's courtyard and walking near the garden, Zhao Sixing saw a figure standing by the garden pavilion in the distance. He didn't say anything and continued walking towards his own courtyard. Before he even passed the pavilion, he heard a sweet voice call out, "Is that your cousin?"
Zhao Sixing recognized her from her voice; she was his cousin who had been raised by his grandmother since childhood.
This cousin is actually quite distant from Lady Yongping; she is the granddaughter of Lady Jiang's half-sister, and her name is Feng Yuli.
When Jiang married the Marquis of Yongping, her father was the prime minister, a first-rank official. Although he did not come from a high social class, he was very powerful. When Jiang married into the Marquis of Yongping's household, her dowry was not much. Not only did her husband treat her well, but even her parents-in-law treated her with great respect.
Jiang's father passed away some time ago, and Jiang's elder brother is now the Salt Commissioner of Jiangnan, a second-rank official. He can be said to be a confidant of Emperor Liang Cheng. Because of this, Marquis Yongping turns a blind eye to some of Jiang's actions.
After Jiang got married, her half-sister married a scholar who went to the capital to take the imperial examination. Unfortunately, the scholar failed the examination repeatedly and returned to his hometown with Jiang's half-sister. The couple died young. Jiang's half-sister only gave birth to a daughter, who was married off to a family by the clan. She died in childbirth. Children without mothers always have a hard life. Jiang's brother found out about this by chance and took the child into his home to raise her.
The Jiang family's house was small, and after the child grew to a few years old, it was difficult to house her in the mansion. After all, Jiang's maternal family was not just her brother; she also had several brothers, both legitimate and illegitimate. So, Jiang took this granddaughter into her own household and raised her, thinking that in the future, it would just be a matter of giving her a dowry.
Feng Yuli lost her mother at a young age and lived a life of dependence on others. After witnessing the wealth and power of the Marquis's mansion, she became ambitious and wanted to find a good marriage. After searching for a long time, she took a liking to Zhao Sixing.
Zhao Sixing was a gentleman, and as the eldest in the family, he took good care of his younger siblings since childhood. Although Feng Yuli was somewhat afraid of Xu Shao, she thought that she could rely on Jiang Shi in the mansion, and she often expressed her feelings to Zhao Sixing, both openly and secretly.
Unfortunately, Zhao Sixing's ambitions lay elsewhere, and he was later sent to study in Tai'an. Being so far away, and with no means of communication available, Feng Yuli could do nothing but wait patiently, no matter how anxious she was. Who would have thought that when Zhao Sixing returned, he was about to get married?
Feng Yuli had been keeping an eye on Zhao Sixing's return time. She had tried several times but hadn't managed to catch him. Now that she had finally managed to catch him, she naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.
Feng Yuli had considered it carefully. If she were to marry, she would not marry into a high-ranking family as their principal wife, but she was extremely unwilling to marry into a family of humble origins. She thought that Zhao Sixing was weak-willed and easy to talk to, so she might as well become his concubine.
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